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First detailed update since leaving the country! (caution this is long)

I left Phoenix on Tuesday and had two days of traveling. I am thankful to report that all went smoothly. Other than a minor hiccup which involved racing to get on my flight from Dallas to London… The important thing is that I made it to my final destination with all my belongings.

FAQ:

1. Q:“How many flights did you have?”

A:“3 (Phoenix —> Dallas; —> London; —> Madrid)”

2.Q:”How long is the flight…and *list of questions that follow*-?”

A:”From Dallas to London, 9 hours

- no I couldn’t sleep

- yes there was food (interesting but good)

- I GOT FREE WINE

-I watched four movies

-In London I had a 5 hour layover, then a 2 and a half hour flight to Madrid. (which I finally slept)

My friend Chyann was my hero of the week and was there to greet me just outside of security. With her help we went on a series of three separate metro transit rides before arriving a few blocks from where she had our Airbnb waiting for us (told you she was my hero). I was able to shower and then she showed me around Gran Vía, Madrid. We found a place to eat dinner. Gran Vía reminds me a lot of New York City. Not quite as crowded but the streets are narrow with lots of alleys, very city like I suppose (says the girl who lives in a desert). There are so many massive, beautiful buildings, all with unique and amazing architecture.

After we ate, we walked back to our place for the night and hit the hay- or so I tried. Adjusting to such a huge time difference (+8 hours) isn’t as easy as I hoped… Probably why it’s 3am and I am typing this… (to be fair it is 7pm in Phoenix). I did my best to sleep but after four hours I was wide awake… I finally crawled out of the top bunk and made my way to the other room and watched ‘How I Met Your Mother’ for about 6 hours until my computer died. Then I was able to sleep for another three hours or so.

We made eggs for breakfast and then hit the town! We walked to Museo del Prado, Plaza Mayor de Madrid, and Puerta del Sol. We went to a café in Puerta del Sol, had lunch at Trattoria Pinocchio Sánchez Bustillo. Then we had about 5 hours to kill before our train for Alicante.

There is a store that Chy wanted to go to that is called Primark. It is very similar to H&M and the Madrid location is 4 stories. No joke. F O U R!!! It was basically it’s own mall. I have never seen anything like it before. After we spent several hours in there, we wandered around looking for gelato... and failed. We looked up two different places; and either the maps lied, or we are silly and just missed them. Just wasn’t meant to be I guess…We settled for orange juice instead, which by the way, the orange juice here is AH-MAZING! Freshly squeezed and so yummy! Finally we made our way to the train station.

After a two hour train ride and about a five minute taxi ride, we finally made it to our apartment in Alicante!! I am unpacked and so excited to see this area in the daylight (we arrived around midnight).

It has been a long couple of days, but so far, all incredible. Today I walked a total of 9.48 miles (21,263 steps), my legs are definitely going to be sore! At least I am making up for all the sitting I did while getting here, right?

Anyways, that’s all for now! Thank you to everyone who has reached out to let me know they were thinking of me while I was traveling! You all mean the world to me and I hope you all know that I miss you!!

just dan(d)i

I believe that by sharing our stories with one another we grow. We are able to reflect on our own thoughts and actions and sometimes even learn from them. We have the power to impact others positively and that is my purpose for creating this.